Sample Letter of Intent

The letter of intent (LOI) is your letter informing your local school district that you intend to homeschool. It is written to the superintendent of the school district in which you live. Contact your RIGHT chapter leader for specific information as each school district has different requirements.

Some school departments may ask for a list of curriculum for subjects required by RI law.  A simple list of books covering those subjects attached to your LOI should be sufficient. The recent adoption of 16-22-2 - Civics as a required subect encompasses previously required subjects in 16-19-2, for an explanation see "'Civics' in, Government and History out".

You may want to send your letter of intent certified mail to assure it is received. 

You do NOT need to a) sign a form provided by the school dept, b) give lesson plans or time indications for each subject, or c) report more often than once or possibly twice a year.  There is also some debate as to whether it is necessary to include age, grade, or date of birth.  We suggest giving the least amount of information possible to retain parental and homeschool rights for all RI families while still obeying RI statutes.

If you have difficulty gaining approval from your school district, please contact us.

August 1, 200?

Local School Department

Address Your town, Rhode Island

Attn: Superintendent

Re: INTENT TO HOME SCHOOL

To whom it may concern:

We intend to home school our child/children (names) during the school year 200?-200?. Attendance will be substantially equal to that required by law in public schools (180 days) and RI law will be followed with regard to curriculum guidelines. Required Subjects:  reading, writing, geography, arithmetic, English (§ 16-19-2); civics (§ 16-22-2); health and physical education (§ 16-22-4) will be taught.

Upon request, an end of the year report of progress and attendance will be sent at the conclusion of our school year. (The assessment would be a method of the parent’s choosing – grades, test results, narrative progress report, etc.)

If you request any additional information, please contact us by mail. Thank you for your attention regarding this matter.

Sincerely,

Mr. and Mrs. Your Name

Address

No Phone (Correspondence should be in writing to avoid miscommunication.)